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Sunday, May 5, 2013

Product Review - Genius Platform System by Lifestyle crafts

Hey there bloggies, I have been asked by some of my blogging friends if I would please do a review of the lifestyle Crafts Genius Platform System

I figured it would be great to do a review and to try out this product that has gotten much buzz over the past few months. Please know that everything in this post if strictly my opinion and is not the views of anyone else. 

I contacted Lifestyle Crafts and they welcomed the idea and sent me a platform out that same day for free so that I could try it out and do my review. I thought that was so awesome of them and shows how excited they are about this product. 

So for starters, This system comes with three plates, A, B and the platform plate. You also get a free set of cutting dies, all pictured here.


These plates differ from the Sizzix plates because the A and B plates are forgiving and almost "self healing" so as you can see in the picture the thinner B plate will bend easily but will flatten right back out. 

There also are instructions on the back of the box that says what each pad is for and the combos to use to cut

One thing that I noticed is that you need two B platforms and it only comes with one, so you will have to buy another platform in order to do the B + B combos. I'm not sure why they did that, maybe to keep costs down?

The platform of this system is magnetic, which I totally love, no more worries that your thin dies are going to move! I love it!! This is a photo of my dies on the platform and the platform is sitting up, very clever.



I have used the Sizzix Big Shot for all of the demos here.

For starters I began with the platform plus mat A combo
I used the following dies for this trial...
Quickcutz
Spellbinders
Lifestyle Crafts
Memory Box
Sizzix


The dies were all thin, flat type of dies, just different brands.




The cutting system worked great. It cut all the dies perfectly with the exception of the Memory Box die. That is a die I have had trouble with previously so I decided to try out another Memory Box die and run it through again.
It worked perfectly..


Next I used the B matt and Platform combos with the following items, mostly embossing folders (various brands) and Embosslits by Sizzix and Provocraft Cuttlebug Die 


All these items went through perfectly and I had no issues with them.




I also wanted to try the Vintage folder with the metal Vintage pieces with this combo to see how it worked. You can see my results below


As you can see it did emboss the metal lightly.

Lastly I worked with the B + B, but since I only have one B plate I used my existing B Sizzix plastic plate to partner with the Genius plate. I tried this combo with all items below







It even worked fine with the movers and shapers dies.




I also wanted to try it out with movers and shapers dies that require the Sizzix Crease pad, this combo requires the B plate and the movers and shapers tray and then the crease pad on top. It worked beautifully






Lastly I wanted to try the Sizzix Pop and Cuts Die



It worked just fine and the genius system cut it perfectly.

All in all, I think this system is a great replacement for your current plastic plates. No more cracking, bending and warping. This is really easy to use and so far I haven't found anything that I cannot cut with just this system, very easy and simple. 

You can trade in all of these:


For this:

Please NOTE: This system does not work with the smaller green Cuttlebug pictured here, the opening of the Cuttlebug is too small.




I would definitely recommend this system to anyone who asks, its easy and simple to use and I love the matts and platform. I will be buying another B plate to use with my system. It retails for about 49.99 but you will not have to replace it like you would the Sizzix plates, not to mention after you purchase the different sizzix plates that you need, you've already spent well over that amount..Me alone, I have four different sets of sizzix plates.
 I can see this Genius system lasting me forever. 
Thanks for coming by, here is a link if you would like to check it out...
Added Bonus - use the code CACorner for a 20% discount




15 comments:

  1. Wow! That would be so great! I have had trouble cutting some of the thinner Spellbinders dies on my Big Shot. Plus, all the different plates I have take up so much room. Definitely going to have to think about getting one of these.

    Thanks for the review! Very very helpful.

    Marilyn

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  2. Thanks for a great blog post! I've read about these - didn't realize they won't work in the Cuttlebug. I have a Vagabond in addition to my CB so have bought multiple sets of plates for the two machines. I've got a couple of sets of backups still in the packaging so I'm set for a while but when the Sizzix need replacing I'll give the Genius system serious consideration. It's good to know that the Memory Box worked - I love the patterns but seldom buy them because I have one die that will NOT release the paper no matter what I try for wax paper/shim combos. I don't craft to be frustrated!!!
    Thanks again!

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  3. Thank you!!! That was very helpful!!

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  4. That was a great help!
    Lots of useful information.
    Thank you for the review.

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  5. Thank you so much for your great review.
    Allthough I dont understand that you say they wont fit in the Cuttlebug. On their homepage it is told that they will fit in CB as well. I would really love to invest in these if I can use them in CB.
    Thanks again. So kind of you to share this info !!!
    Hugs from SPAIN

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  6. great review! This is the first time I have seen this system.... I use my Sizzix ALL the time!!! What a great product !!!

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  7. Cool! I've never seen this one before. I'll have to try it.

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  8. Like others have said, great review!! I bought one of these a couple of months ago and it's one of the best purchases I've made for my Big Shot. The only thing I've used this platform is for my metal dies. I love how it's possible to put down a bunch of small dies onto the platform and cut it all at one time. I knew this platform could do so much more but I hadn't looked into yet and didn't even realize that a second B plate was necessary. I guess this explains why my local scrapbook store has them sitting on the shelf...lol. I've tried this with all of my metal dies (sizzix, memory box, papertrey ink, my favorite things, verve, wplus9, etc...). It works like a charm, even on the dies with more fussy detail. Thanks for showing me some of the other stuff this thing can do :)

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  9. What are the thickness dimensions of the magnetic platform, mat a, and mat b? how do they compare to the thickness of Cuttlebug plates? Thanks! Great review!

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  10. What are the thickness dimensions of the magnetic platform, mat a, and mat b? how do they compare to the thickness of Cuttlebug plates? Thanks! Great review!

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  11. I just checked online and found the separate B plate for $9.99. I thought it should be much less than the $49.99 you quoted since the whole Genius Platform is $49.99. Great review, though... now I think I "need" one of these! Unfortunately, I have a stockpile of new cutting plates, though that I've bought with 50% off coupons, so I guess I'll be using those before I can buy this. :(

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  12. How do you use the large embossing dies on this? Can you only use it by having one piece of card in it? Can't use a folded card? As would be too thick? Correct?

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  13. How can you use these opaque mats if you need to see exactly where you're cutting? I often stamp or print out a greeting and then place the die in exactly the spot I want using the clear Big Shot cutting pad

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  14. How can you use these opaque mats if you need to see exactly where you're cutting? I often stamp or print out a greeting and then place the die in exactly the spot I want using the clear Big Shot cutting pad

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